The few weeks of researching that we have engaged in have been extremely helpful for our group. After our research, we have a list of names of people we can interview based on personal contacts and news sources. For example, as a group, we have access to many Dartmouth coaches and Nordic trail groomers. We also have a way to get in touch with the United States Biathlon coach. For further research on these people, we are going to write them soon and talk to them about interviews! Knowing that we have a list of contacts changed my thinking. It gave me more confidence that we will be able to show an educational and descriptive program that is supported with reliable people.

As a group, we also learned a lot more about general weather patterns in Vermont winters. We learned about overall temperature changes since the mid-1900’s and got a bigger picture on the effects of climate change. We also learned about the change in amount of snow and how long it takes the snow to melt. This also showed us how big of an impact climate change is having on our winters. We also researched stories relating to climate change impacts on Vermont’s ski industry. For example, a cross country ski center had to shut down just because they were not getting enough snow even though it was the family’s dream. This showed me how climate change is affecting individual people and changing their lives, even taking away things that people dream about. Not only has my group done a bunch of research but, we have a lot more to do. 

As a group we must still do a lot of research. First, we must learn more about filming opportunities. This means we have to find events that we can film at to show what each sport is and how it relates to our winter weather. We are going to do this by talking to people we interview about chances to see the sport they are affiliated with, as well as researching events on websites that keep track of important things that are going on in our communities. We also need to learn more about people who have been affected by climate change in Vermont, and how it has affected them. This will help our group relate to climate change through fellow Vermonters. It will also help the people who view our film because it will give them someone to relate to. We will do this by finding places that climate change has particularly impacted, and find ways to talk to people that live in those places. As a group we still has a lot of research to do before we can be fully educated on our topic. Even if I have done a lot of research I also have many questions. 

I have many questions about this program. First of all, how do people share their films. Do you individually show your films to your community, enter them in competitions, or is there an event were many people come to see our films? Second, I am just wondering how What’s the Story has grown in the years it has been running, how has it evolved in content? Overall, What’s the Story has been a great experience and I am super excited about our overnight and spending time with my group.